Killion opened the door. “May I be of assistance?” he asked, with a stance which subtly blocked the door. With his hand, he signalled to the two footmen in the hall.
The previous time the termagant before him had appeared at the house, she had pushed her way in. The mistress and master had then bestowed their permission to keep the woman out of the house by any means necessary if she arrived, as she had now, without their express permission.
“Move aside,” Lady Catherine shrieked. “Do you know who I am?”
“Yes, Lady Catherine I know who you are, however, I am following orders to not allow you entrance without Mr. Darcy or Lady Anne permitting me to do so.”
“I will see you are sacked with no character!” Lady Catherine yelled.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The Darcy’s, Fitzwilliams, and the five Bennet sisters were all in the largest of the drawing rooms at Darcy House when they heard the caterwauling from the front door.
“Anne’s majority is approaching, my sister must be hunting for a husband for my namesake,” Lady Anne shook her head.
Seeing the questioning looks from the sisters who had never had thepleasureof meeting Lady Catherine, the Darcys and Fitzwilliams explained all about her and her demands either Andrew or William marry her daughter.
“I suppose we will have to go and expel her from our property,” Darcy huffed.
“Robert, allow her to enter so she can make a fool of herself away from our neighbours’ prying eyes. Perhaps she will finally understand none of us are fooled by the façade she tries to present,” Lady Anne suggested.
Darcy looked around the room. Andrew was seated next to Jane and William and Lizzy were next to one another. “Are you sure, Anne,” Darcy verified, “you know she will release her vitriol as soon as she notes the ladies sitting next to Andrew and William.”
“Papa, do not be uneasy on our account, and for myself, I do dearly like to laugh,” Elizabeth stated. “From what you have all said, it should be a rather amusing performance.”
Seeing nods from the other four sisters, Darcy made his way down to the entrance hall.
When he arrived, his sister-in-law was still screeching like a fishmonger’s wife hawking her wares in the market.
“Catherine, desist immediately!” Darcy thundered. “What is the meaning of this display of ill-breeding on my doorstep?”
“You need to sack this man; he denied me entry…” Lady Catherine tried to say before Darcy interjected.
“He was following direct orders from Anne and me,” Darcy bellowed. “The only reason I would have sacked him was if he had ignored our instructions and allowed you to force your way into our house uninvited.”
“Well I never! How dare you speak to me in that way, I am the daughter of…” Lady Catherine attempted to bluster.
Rather than continue to have the woman provide entertainment for his neighbours, Darcy nodded to his butler. Seeing his master’s permission, Killion motioned for the two large footmen to take a few steps back, and then he stood aside himself.
As soon as the door was closed, Darcy rounded on his sister-in-law. “Catherine, just like me you are a commoner. You have a courtesy title and we all know your late husband was only knighted because you could not accept being married to a man without some sort of title.” Seeing she wanted to interrupt him, Darcy raised his hand. “You will either behave with decorum in my house or you will be evicted and never allowed to enter again. Do I make myself clear?”
Being aware Robert Darcy never issued idle threats, Lady Catherine gave a tight nod of acceptance.
Before Darcy could speak again, there was the sound of the knocker striking the door. He nodded to Killion who opened it to reveal his niece. “Good afternoon, Uncle Robert,” Anne stated cheerily as she entered the house. “I waited for a little while as I did not want anyone who witnessed my mother’s performance to think I endorsed that kind of behaviour.”
“Anne! How could you?” Lady Catherine raised her hand to slap her daughter but found her wrist clamped in a large hand.
“You will not harm your daughter!” Darcy snarled.
The footman who had caught Lady Catherine’s wrist looked to the master who nodded, so the man released his hold on the woman. Those in the entrance hall ignored the woman’s outraged look at being manhandled.
“The man who masquerades as a parson, Mr. Hopkinson, is in the carriage because my mother ordered him to wait,” Anne informed her uncle.
“Why would your parson…” Darcy paused as it hit him what the delusional woman had hoped to achieve. “You thought bringing him along would somehow make that which we have all refused over and over again to come to pass? Besides the fact we would never gratify you, both Andrew and William have entered into courtships.”
“We had read about Andrew, but I look forward to congratulating William,” Anne stated before her mother could start up again.
“Let us to the drawing room where everyone awaits us,” Darcy commanded. “I would prefer to have this discussion in a more private setting.”
